"It was imprudent of us, in the first place, to become authors. We could have become something regular, but we managed not to.We were lucky, but we were also determined." Roy Blount Jr

"I don’t change the facts to enhance the drama. I think of it the other way round, the drama has got to fit the facts, and it’s your job as a writer to find the shape in real life." Hilary Mantel

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sunday Stroll: Seasonal Sights

AWOL for a week...I know. It's unprecedented. As you might suppose, I was excessively busy.

Tuesday: Chairs & Vice Chairs meeting. Wednesday: I left home at 8:45 p.m. and didn't return till 7: 30 p.m. Very lengthy House session during which we voted out all the retained bills by deadline. Thursday: first day of public hearings in my committee--6 of them, 2 of which I chaired. One related to clamming in Hampton and Seabrook and one related to processing lobsters for food, so it was a good thing my Friend from the North Country and I had already planned to have dinner at a seafood restaurant after our Diocesan Council meeting. (Newick's in Concord.) Oh, and I chaired the Council meeting, too, and it ended a bit early--also good.

FFTNC spent both Thursday and Friday night at the Lodge. Friday afternoon was spent in Concord for shopping and mandolin lesson (temperature in the 40's!), and we cooked up a gourmet dinner that evening.

Here's the salad.

And the Spicy Garlic Shrimp (a Thai recipe) which I'd never made before. It got rave reviews!

Yesterday...FFTNC and I kept busy with diocesan work. The Chap walked the dogs and did other good things about the Lodge. It was a gorgeous sunny mild day, about 45 degrees. I think we've had our January thaw...rather short-lived, but most welcome.

Which brings me to today, and an honest-to-goodness outdoor Sunday Stroll.

Despite recent melting, branches of saplings are still buried in snow cover. It looks like they're sprouting up, but in fact they are leaning over and the tips (on the left-ish side) are bent downward and the branch angles are pointing in the opposite way they should be.

Another "mess with your head" photo. It's hard to see against the white background, but a nest of snow formed among the branches of my Therese Bugnet rugosa rose and the vines of my perennial sweet pea.

Sedum rising up from the snow.

Interesting smells on No-Name Snow Mountain entice Jewel.

Ruth is similarly occupied on Wolf Mountain.

Our church service was lovely...Gospel lesson was the Marriage at Cana, and the rector preached on that, beautifully. After the service the Chap had a brief Vestry meeting, so I had time to photograph the sanctuary. Especially our stained glass windows.

View of the little lake.

Party of ice fishermen were out when we came home. I took the photo from the "beach" but in fact I can see them from our windows, they are actually fishing in our "front yard."

Needless to say, manuscript revision was a back-burner activity for much of the week though there was some productivity. I was playing catch-up last night and will continue today and tomorrow. I do plan to watch CNN at 6:00 for the Haiti worship service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Our Presiding Bishop will be--well, presiding.

Our January thaw came to an abrupt halt about 30 minutes ago when the snow began falling, heavily and steadily--a lot sooner than expected. We are supposed to get many inches. Fortunately the Chap has a day off tomorrow for the Martin Luther King holiday. I have a day at home as well but will be working steadily.

Thanks very much for strolling with me. To continue, visiting Aisling's blog.